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Patrick O’Bryant has never managed to find a foothold in the NBA. With statements like this, it’s easy to understand why.

The former lottery pick has knocked around Greece, Puerto Rico and the D-League since the Warriors selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Now he is trying to stick with the Charlotte Bobcats with a novel approach: By giving effort.

“I have to show great work ethic, which has been one of my biggest faults to date — that I tend not to work very hard,” O’Bryant told The Charlotte Observer. “I’m trying to show I turned the corner on that and prove I’ll do whatever it takes to stay in this league.”

Yes, Patrick, not working very hard can be a problem when you’re a professional athlete. Given this admission, it’s not surprising that O’Bryant’s career scoring average as an NBA player is 46.5 points — per season. The 7-foot, 260-pound Bradley product has played for the Warriors, Celtics and Raptors but has been out of the NBA since 2010.

It’s hard to think Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, whose mantra was “I can’t accept not trying,” will advocate keeping O’Bryant around with that attitude, even if O’Bryant insists he has turned it all around.